Senator Risa Hontiveros has called for a sweeping Senate review of the Philippines’ sugar industry laws, warning that the current system is “failing both farmers and consumers” despite more than a decade of government intervention and funding. In Senate Resolution No. 298, filed on February 11, 2026, she urged the Committee on Agriculture to examine the implementation of the Sugar Industry Development Act of 2015 (SIDA) and the charter of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), citing persistent high prices, lagging productivity, and market imbalances.
The move comes even as domestic sugar production reached a four-year high of 2.09 million metric tons in crop year 2025, an 8.9 percent increase from the previous year. Yet that output met only 87 percent of national demand, leaving consumers exposed to price pressures and policymakers grappling with how best to protect an industry that supports millions of livelihoods.
A Sector Under Strain
The sugar industry is a pillar of rural employment, directly employing around 700,000 workers and supporting the livelihoods of an estimated five to six million Filipinos. Its economic contribution has been placed between ₱76 billion and ₱90 billion.
But behind those figures lies a sector struggling to compete with global heavyweights such as Brazil, Thailand, and Colombia. Mills are aging. Productivity gains have lagged. Production costs remain high. And despite imports and lower world prices, domestic sugar prices remain elevated, adding to household food expenses nationwide.
“The laws were meant to strengthen the sugar industry and improve the incomes of farmers and workers. But today, our sugar remains expensive, our mills lag behind, and our farmers are struggling to compete,” Hontiveros said.
Reviewing a Decade-Old Law
At the center of the inquiry is Republic Act 10659, the Sugar Industry Development Act of 2015. Enacted to boost competitiveness and raise farmer incomes, SIDA provides ₱500 million annually in industry support. The SRA operates with a separate ₱2-billion annual budget.
Hontiveros is asking the Senate to determine whether these funds and regulatory tools have delivered the promised reforms. The resolution also seeks scrutiny of specific SRA orders — including those linking refined sugar import privileges to the mandatory purchase and storage of local “buffer stocks” and compliance with export quotas to the United States.
Critics argue that such mechanisms may favor large, well-capitalized trader-millers, potentially tightening market concentration while leaving small farmers squeezed by rising input costs and thin margins.
“Our farmers are struggling with rising costs but low productivity. Meanwhile, consumers continue to suffer from high sugar prices. The system is failing both farmers and consumers,” Hontiveros said.
Manifesto Signals Broad Industry Concern
Pressure for reform is not confined to the Senate. On January 30, 2026, prominent sugar federations from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — along with millers and refiners — submitted a manifesto to the Department of Agriculture and the SRA, signaling unified concern across major producing regions.
The document underscored the need to address structural inefficiencies and restore competitiveness in an industry long shielded by protective policies. While the full contents were not publicly detailed, the coordinated action suggests rare alignment among stakeholders often divided by competing commercial interests.
Balancing Protection and Competition
The Department of Agriculture has already taken protective steps, extending a ban on certain sugar imports through the end of 2026. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the department is “looking into the possibility of imposing higher tariffs on imported artificial sugar to support demand for locally produced sugar.”
At the same time, the department is reviewing policies governing imported sweeteners and their market impact — a recognition that shielding local production cannot come at the expense of consumers indefinitely.
The tension is stark: policies designed to protect 700,000 jobs in the sugar belt can also translate into higher prices for more than 110 million consumers. Like a levee built to shield a single town but redirecting floodwaters elsewhere, regulatory safeguards can carry unintended costs.
High Prices, Everyday Consequences
For households, sugar is more than a pantry item. It is embedded in basic goods — bread, beverages, processed foods — making its price a quiet but pervasive factor in overall food inflation. Persistently elevated retail prices have added pressure to family budgets, particularly among low-income consumers.
In producing provinces such as Negros Occidental and parts of Mindanao, meanwhile, low farm productivity and volatile returns have raised concerns about long-term viability. Small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries are especially vulnerable, lacking the scale and capital buffers of larger operators.
A Push for Structural Reform
Hontiveros said the Senate inquiry should move beyond surface fixes and confront systemic weaknesses.
“We need to fix the broken parts and isolate the rotten parts from the system. We need policies that truly raise productivity, lower costs, protect small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries, and make sugar affordable for Filipino consumers,” she said.
The Committee on Agriculture is expected to conduct hearings in the coming months. The review may shape proposals ranging from amendments to SIDA and revisions of SRA regulations to recalibrated tariff and import policies.
For an industry that has long stood at the crossroads of politics, trade, and rural livelihoods, the Senate inquiry marks a critical juncture. Whether it leads to structural overhaul or incremental change will determine not only the future of the sugar belt, but also the cost of sweetness for millions of Filipino households.
